


and he promised it would live once more (but this time one would equal four)

by jaded_of_mara



Series: Years We've Been On Our Own [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Gen, champion!swap!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 13:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16954599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaded_of_mara/pseuds/jaded_of_mara
Summary: A ChampionSwap!au where it was the four "modern" champions (Sidon, Teba, Riju, and Yunobu) who were there before the Great Calamity, and the regular champions (Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, and Daruk) living after the Calamity and helping Link.





	1. Chapter 1

Link paused at the gateway to Kakariko Village. He had no memory of how to behave, and no idea of what was expected of him. However, there were still people in this village who remembered him. People who would have expectations. People who might expect him to remember them.

He made his way down towards the great house. The old man had told him to meet with Lady Paya, and he had no reason not to. Hopefully she would be more clear with her goals than the old man had been. 

Link felt the sudden urge to get this all done faster, to run. He pushed past the guards and rushed up the stairs, not caring about the reactions of the people on the street. He burst through the doors to find... a girl his age arguing with an old woman. Both cut off to look at him. The old woman held up her hand to silence the girl.

"Link. It is good to see you awake and alive." Her eyes twinkled a bit. "How was your rest?"

Link shrugged and nodded.

The woman gave a shy little laugh. "Still as stoic as ever. My vision told me you don't have any of your memories. Is this true?"

All he could do was nod.

"Well, perhaps it is for the best that you don't remember me. Allow me to reintroduce myself: I am Paya. I was a friend of yours and Princess Zelda's back before the Great Calamity. Since the Calamity, I have been preparing my people for your return." She hesitated. "You have a great task before you, Link. Know that I will do all I can to help you."

The girl spoke up. "Grandmother, I could also help him. My skills could be really valuable to him! I don't think it's fair that we send others out to do these tasks unaided!"

Paya looked at the girl softly. "You do not think it's fair that your siblings develop their trades while you develop your eye. We can continue this discussion once Link leaves on his quest."

Link shifted awkwardly. He didn't like witnessing family conflicts.

"Link. You could go and fight Ganon now, if you so desired. I do not think you are ready. Many skilled Sheikah warriors have tried and died before reaching the castle." She paused and closed her eyes. "According to my grandchildrens' research, you would be better served by defeating the Divine Beasts first. We had thought them inactive, but at the same time you woke up, they did too."

Link gulped. Unbidden, a feeling of being dwarfed and overpowered came into his head.

"Hyrule depends on you. The faster you defeat the beasts, the faster you defeat Ganon, then the faster you free Zelda. The faster normalcy is restored to Hyrule."

Link nodded.

Lady Paya slapped the side of her head. "Oh! Before you go, I have one thing to return to you. Sweetheart, if you could fetch the it?"

The girl ran off upstairs, and came back carrying a bundle of blue fabric.

"Here is your tunic. It should serve you better than what you're wearing right now. Now, you should be on your way. It has been a pleasure seeing you again. Hyrule rests with you."

Link nodded and turned towards the door.

"I'll guide you out of town and towards where you need to go!" The girl yelled from behind him. Link held the door for her as they went out into mid-morning sun.

The girl stopped him before he went down the stairs. "I have notes for you to deliver. This one is for my sister in Hateno village, and this one is for my brother in Akkala. I don't know where he chose to settle in Akkala, so just ask around for Robbie. Tell them that Impa sent the letters, and that I wish I was with them."

Link nodded and put the letters in his bag. He began making his way down the stairs.

"Go right through the gates and down the hill, and that'll point you towards Zora's Domain!" she pointed vaguely around. "Safe travels, Link!"

Link waved back, and made his way out the gate. He needed to get moving if he wanted to make it to Zora's domain before nightfall.


	2. Chapter 2

Getting anywhere near Zora's Domain was, in fact, much harder than Impa had made it sound. Link wasn't expecting the mounted Bokoblins, or the fully functioning Guardian, or the Hinox, or the very large encampment of Lizalfos. 

Now, staring up at the tower ahead of him, he knew he had a choice to make. He could struggle through the hordes of monsters surroundning the tower, or he could try to climb around them. In the pouring rain.

Link took a breath. He could do this. He just had to avoid the Bokoblins. He could do that. He took a closer look at the hill ahead of him.

Okay, he would also have to avoid some Moblins. That was doable. He'd faced Moblins before, this wouldn't be hard. 

He'd also have to face even more Lizalfos on the hill. He wasn't afraid of them, or their deadly spit, or their wickedly sharp spears.

Link steeled himself. Time to move.

The sentries blew their horns. That wasn't great, it meant they knew he was coming. But as long as they didn't--

They were shooting at him. With shock arrows.

Link sprinted off to the sides, weaving around to try and make their shots miss. Okay, he could make his way up the tower. He just needed to climb some sheer faces of rock in the pouring rain.

Eventually, he made it to the base of the tower. As he was making his way up, he heard a voice singing. There had to be someone at the top of the tower.

He climbed up through the hole in the tower top. The singing was coming from a young red Zora standing at the edge of the platform. They didn't seem to notice him, so he went to activate the tower.

The figure flinched and turned toward him. He and the Zora stared at each other as the map information dripped down into his Sheikah Slate. Link gave a little wave.

The Zora stared at him. "How did you get up here?"

I climbed, Link signed.

"Fair enough," she shrugged. "I am Mipha, Princess of the Zora. Could you help me get down?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today because I am lazy AF.


	3. Chapter 3

Mipha chattered at him the whole way down the tower. Apparently, the endless rain was caused by her brother's Divine Beast coming back to life.

"The elders all thought it was impossible. They thought Ruta was lost at the bottom of East Reservoir Lake, and they wouldn't have to think of Sidon ever again. But now, Ruta is back, and the reservoir is nearing capacity, and if we don't let some water out now, then the dams could burst, and either way it will cause floods downstream, and they'll be mad at us and cause more issues with diplomacy, and -- ah!" She gave out a little yelp as she lost her footing. Fortunately, she was only a meter off of the ground.

She dusted herself off. "Right, well. I have a proposition for you."

Link made a face and looked away.

"Oh!" She coughed. "No. I was wondering, are you any good at archery? I need someone who is good at archery, and who can handle shock arrows, and can swim."

Link raised an eyebrow.

"I would like you to help me take down the Divine Beast. The best place to plan would be the Domain. Can you meet me up there?"

He nodded.

"Wonderful! I shall see you upstream, then!" And with that, she dove into the river and swam off. 

Link looked at the map and saw he had two options. He could follow the winding path which was almost surely infested with monsters, or follow the path of the river. Neither sounded particularly attractive, but he decided to go up the river, swimming where he could fight the current, and dodging waterfalls and rapids where he couldn't.

Eventually, he rejoined the path at Ruto Lake. He stopped and stared at the village ahead of him. Village wasn't the right word. Full of waterworks and built from blue marble, it was completely enchanting. The pillars of light carved from luminous stone made the Domain feel incredibly welcoming.

The stares he got from the town's residents did not.

He got chilly looks from the guards standing at the main entryway to the down. Parents shooed their young children away from him when they tried to greet the stranger. A Zora elder gave him a particularly venomous glare as he made his way to the throne room.

As he made his way up the stairs in front of the grand chamber, he paused. There was large statue of a Zora in the center of the courtyard. The Zora had a mischievous grin on his face, and looked... almost familiar. Link was getting a headache just looking at him, and being sopping wet from the rain wasn't helping. He wanted to take a breath, to step away, but he was almost frozen in place. There was something about that face...

_He was treading water in a warm lake. Sidon was swimming laps around him. They were still a ways out from reaching Ruta's boarding platform. Link didn't think he could swim much further._

_Sidon popped his head above the water. "What, having trouble?"_

_Link rolled his eyes and splashed him. Sidon just laughed._

_"I forget, sometimes. You're my equal in every other way. And don't worry, even some Zora have trouble with this journey!"_

_Link huffed and turned to swim back to shore. Except... He was far enough from the beach that he likely couldn't go any direction safely. He was stuck. He looked back to Sidon._

_"I'm always happy to give my favorite Hylian a ride. Hop on!" He grabbed Link by the arm and dragged him over to his back. Link grabbed onto Sidon's shoulders and prepared himself._

_Seeing Sidon's speed from a distance was nothing compared to actually experiencing it. They cleared most of the way to Ruta in almost no time. Sidon slowed down and gave Link a boost onto the platform, but stayed in the water himself._

_Link raised an eyebrow at him. Sidon laughed. "We'll make a good swimmer out of you yet!"_

_Link laughed too. There wasn't anything to worry about, no nobles, no elders, and certainly no Calamity. There wasn't anything at all._

Link came out of the memory to see Mipha staring at him. He flashed her a little thumbs-up.

Mipha sighed. "Come along. My father wishes to speak with you now. It's time to make a plan to stop Ruta."

**Author's Note:**

> this is a hot mess.
> 
> part of my goal to write something every day of winter break. It doesn't matter if that something is good or not.


End file.
